In many Buffalo personal injury cases, it is not always clear cut who was at fault for the accident. For example, while the defendant may have created the dangerous condition that led to a personal injury, the injured person still may have been able to avoid being injured if he or she had been more careful. Where more than one party, including the injured person, contributed to the happening of an accident, the amount of compensation for any damages is determined under New York’s comparative negligence rules.
Under comparative negligence, it is still possible to recover some damages even when the injured person’s negligence contributed to his or her own injury. In this situation, New York State law provides that the amount of damages recoverable shall be reduced by a percentage equal to the percentage that the conduct of the injured person bears to the overall conduct which caused the damages.
In other words, when compensation is being determined, a “percentage of blame” will be assigned to each of the parties involved, and the damages will be reduced based on this percentage. For example, if an injured person is found to be 25 percent at fault for having caused the accident and the defendant 75 percent at fault, the injured person may recover 75 percent of the total damages awarded.
If you have suffered a personal injury and have questions, please feel free to call us at 716-631-9999. We would be happy to discuss your case.
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